Critical Reading Critical reading happens on three levels (not necessarily in this order): Individual texts: critiquing them in their own right, on their own terms Synthesis across texts: identifying developments, debates and schools of thought Your use of texts: how are they relevant to your agenda? You might explore Can be used in different ways: 1.) Purely as illustrative slides (slides 1 and 2) 2.) students come up with critical questions and then consider where to place them on the matrix (and use the matrix to help prompt questions) (slides 2 and 3) 3.) Students apply the framework to a set of extracts and a model essay question (slides 3 and 4)

Three Domains of Critical Reading Validity: On its own terms Synthesis: In relation to others Relevance: Usefulness to you Context: discipline/profession, authors, currency, bias     What are they doing? Research Question/Aims/Hypothesis  How did they do it? Methods, Models and Materials   How do they know? Argument, evidence, logic and reasoning What do they say? Findings and conclusions

Three Domains of Critical Reading What questions might you ask of the text you are reading in each section of the framework? You might leave it blank, or supply a few examples, or supply all the examples and ask students to match them.

Three Domains of Critical Reading You have been set the following essay question: You have found three relevant texts. Apply Dimension One to the first text, critiquing its validity on its own terms. Apply dimension Two to the other two texts, to better understand the debate Apply Dimension Three – what might you take from the texts to help you answer this question? Activity One

Three Domains of Critical Reading Validity: On its own terms Synthesis: In relation to others Relevance: Usefulness to you Simpler version, for UG1 or activity no 3

Three Domains of Critical Reading Reflection: How might you apply the framework when reading? How might you use the framework when making notes? Reading might have to be multi-layered, they might wish to start with one or other of the dimensions Note-taking might need to be as much about noting their response and what they will do with the material as the content of the text